MALACCA: The state government has instructed liquidators of the Pulau Melaka
reclamation project to complete work within 15 months.

State Housing, Rural Township Development and Revival of Abandoned Projects
committee chairman Datuk Abd Ghafar Atan said the state was serious in
pushing for the project’s completion following complaints by those who had
purchased property there.

The Pulau Melaka twin island reclamation project was launched in 1996 and
was to have become a prestigious landmark for Malacca following its
scheduled completion by the end of 2000.

Work on the shoplots and apartment units there are scheduled for completion
by the year-end.

However, after encountering several problems, including running up a total
unpaid quit rent of RM 2.5mil, development stopped in 2004 resulting in
complaints from 800 buyers who had purchased shoplots and apartments on the
island.

Following liquidation, the project was revived with the state constructing
the partially floating Selat Mosque on a parcel of reclaimed area allotted
to the state.

Ghafar, who visited the site and met up with project representatives last
Tuesday, said the partially completed buildings have become an eyesore.

“Just imagine the people who visit the beautiful Selat Mosque and get a view
not only of the sea but row upon row of empty and unfinished shoplots,” he
said.

Ghafar said among the complaints he heard during the meeting were theft of
electrical wires and metal pipes from the unfinished buildings.

He warned that the state would not hesitate to take drastic action to ensure
that the liquidators completed the project within the stipulated time.